Fans Have More Friends

The third and most important reason multi-sport fans tend to be more engaged fans is that the social network around each of those sports is likely to be different. Our Bears season ticket holder from the example above likely has a robust set of people in his life with whom he shares his Bears fandom. But the fan of all the Chicago teams likely has

Fandom is stickier when fans have an orientation to the sport, not just to a team. These two modes are not mutually exclusive: A single fan can love college football generally and root for the Crimson Tide specifically. But when they do both, their fandom runs deeper.

Fans who engage in more actions report higher passion scores. For fans, action matters.

it’s easy to say you’re a fan, but it turns out that it’s harder to act like a fan.

If fandom is about community, then it should improve the social lives of sports fans. If fandom helps to improve the social lives of sports fans, then fans should reap the positive benefits of socializing.

To be a fan is to be part of a community.